Submarine mine



T. K. NORTH.

SUBMARINE MINE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 21, 1911.

Patented May 18, 1920.

3 SHEE'ISSHEET 1.

T. K. NORTH.

SUBMARINE MINE.

APPLICATION FILED sums21, 1917.

1,340,288. Patented May 18, 1920 3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

INVENTO/f 7770mm; KA/orf/z Mal/mm ATTORNEY6 T. K. NORTH.

SUBMARINE MINE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 21. 1917.

Patented May 18, 1920.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3- BY 6W 0W m w A FOR/V576 THOMAS KEPPEL NORTH, OF WESTMINSTER, LONDON, ENGLAND, ASSIGNOR 'lO VICKEBS LIMITED, OF \VESTMINSTER, ENGLAND.

SUBMARINE MINE.

Application filed June 21,

T 0 all whom it may concern Be it known that I, THOMAS KErrnL NORTH, a subject of the King of Great Britain, residing at Vickers House, Broadway, lVestminster, in the county of London, England, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in or Relating to Submarine Mines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to submarine mines and has particular reference to those wherein the firing gear comprises a firing arm or member which after the launching of the mine, projects laterally from the flotation chamber or mine proper, the movement of this arm relatively to the flotation chamber when the latter is struck by a ship, causing the bursting charge to be exploded. The chief object of the invention is to so con struct the mine that it can be ejected from a torpedo tube; but the several features of the invention hereinafter described can be applied either individually or collectively to mines adapted to be launched or laid in the usual manner.

According to the invention the aforesaid firing arm or member is hinged or jointed so that the outer portion thereof can be folded into a position to lie within the anchor and is so constructed that on the sepa ration of the flotation chamber from the anchor it will assume and be held in its extended or lateralposition relatively to the flotation chamber. The said outer portion of the firing arm may be controlled by a spring preferably surrounding the inner portion of the arm and operating upon the outer portion of the arm through the intermediary of a sleeve. hen the flotation chamber becomes separated from the anchor during the laying of the mine and the spring has caused the outer portion of the arm to come into line with the inner portion, the said sleeve passes over the joint or hinge and thereby locks the two portions together. The said sleeve may also serve through the intermediary of a suitable device to lock the firing mechanism until the sleeve has assumed its locking position.

In order to prevent the firing mechanism from operating to fire the mine until a predetermined time has elapsed after launch- Specification of Letters Patent. Patented ltflay 18, 1920,

1917. Serial No. 176,063.

ing or laying the mine, a safety device is employed which, as is well understood, is held in its safety position by a plug of soluble salt or other suitable soluble substance. This plug in the present invention is contained in a casing which is so constructed and arranged that, until the flotation chamber has been submerged by its sinker or anchor, water will be prevented from gaining access to the soluble plug; premature dissolution of the plug is thus avoided.

-The striker head is connected to its rod or stem (which is connected to the sinker or anchor cable) by one or more transverse pins or segments which are more or less pointed or rounded and engage with a circumferential groove (or with holes) formed in the rod. The pins are retained in their engaged position by the wall of the guide tube in which the striker head slides. This tube is formed with one or more recesses so that when the striker is being retracted by the upward lift or buoyancy of the fiota tion chamber, after a ship has struck the mine, the outer ends of the pins will come opposite the recess or recesses whereupon the pins (owing to the formation of their inner ends and the pressure of the spring on the striker head) will be moved out of engagement with the striker rod and the head will then be impelled by the striker spring against the detonatorto fire the mine.

The anchor carries the paying out gear for the cable and this gear comprises a fixed drum on which the anchor cable is wound; this cable passes through an arm or other suitable member connected to or forming part of a screw threaded shaft mounted in the drum and carrying a nut or collar which is normally locked to the shaft and which after the arm and the shaft have been rotated to a certain extent by the unwinding of the cable from the drum, comes against a fixed part and prevents further paying out of the cable. The said arm may carry a pivoted link, stirrup or other equivalent member through which the cable passes. This link or stirrup normally lies against the adjacent end of the drum in which position it may be secured by a readily breakable pin or by a spring device; it is'preventfrom accidentally rotating (together with the arm and the screw-threaded shaft) by a portion thereof being disposed in a groove in the drum.

In order that the said invention may be clearly understood and readily carried into effect, the same will be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawin s, in which igure 1 is a longitudinal section showing a mine provided with our improvements, the parts of the mine being shown in the position they occupy prior to the launching of the mine.

Fig. 2 is a sectional inverted plan showing a portion of the anchor with the anchor cable drum partly broken away to show certain parts more clearly and with the cable omitted from the drum.

Fig. 3 is an end elevation of Fig. 2 viewed in the direction of the arrow in the latter figure.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged view of part of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a section taken on line 33 of Fig. 3*.

Fig. 3 is a section showing on an enlarged scale the left hand portion of Fig. 3 in section on a plane at right angles to the plane of section of the latter figure.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged view showing the aforesaid means for preventing water from gaining access to the soluble plug.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged view of the striker, and

Figs. 6, 7 and 8 are respectively an end elevation, a side elevation and plan viewed in the direction of the arrow of Fig. 6, showing the aforesaid nut or collar appertaining to the cable paying out gear.

In the example shown the mine comprises two main elements, viz: the flotation chamber A which contains the charge chamber A and carries the firing gear (including the aforesaid firing arm and the. safety devices for preventing premature firing), and the sinker or anchor B which contains the cable B connecting it to the flotation cham ber and also contains the paying out gear for the cable. These two main elements are cylindrical in shape, the flotation chamber 'A fitting partly within the sinker or anchor;

the outer portion A of the flotation chamber may be rounded so that the mine as a whole has somewhat the appearance of an automobile torpedo, the said rounded portion constituting the nose and the sinker or anchor B the aft end.

The flotation chamber A and the anchor B aredetachably connected together in any suitable manner so that they will become disconnected only after the mine has left the torpedo tube or other launching device. by the pull which is exerted between the anchor and the flotation chamber as a result of the Weight of the former and the buoyancy of the latter. In the example shown the connecting means comprise hooks a, a, a each of which has an inclined engaging sur face to enable the flotation chamber to be come readily disengaged from the sinksor anchor as stated above. These hooks are held in position by a rope 64* until the mine is being placed in the torpedo tube. The rope is then removed and the hooks are only retained in place by the walls of the tube.

C is the striker head and is its stem; the latter is connected to member C to which the anchor cable B is attached, this member carrying the inner portion D oi the aforesaid firing arm. The outer portion D oi this arm is hinged to the said inner portion D at d and when the parts of the mine are in the position shown by Fig. l, the said outer portion lies more or parallel to the longitudinal axis of the mine and is disposed within the anchor. When the flotation chamber becomes detached from the anchor, the saidouter portion D of the firing arm is free to be moved by a spring (Z surrounding the inner portion D, into a position in line with the inner portion, whereupon the spring (Z causes a collar D to pass over the joint or hinge d and thus hold the portion D rigidly in line with the portion D so that the firing arm projects laterally from the mine; this movement oi the collar is limited. by a projection d on the said outer portion D of the firing arm. At the same time a rod (Z connected to the collar D is moved out oi engagement with a sleeve 0 forming part of the member 0 and with a part 0 connected to tho member C by studs 1; (Fig. 25") between the heads of which. and the member C plugs 0 oi sal-ammoniac are placed which normally hold the member C in the position shown in which a slot in the sleeve 0 engages with stud C (Figs. 3 and 4-) on the firing gear body 0'. The part c is formed with a gapped flange c (Fig. 3") cotiper ting with an interrupteo collar 0 on a p C cornected to the firing gear body the said flange and collar constituting a bayonet joint connection which liberates th part (2 from the part C when relative angular movement oi ninety degrees takes place between these parts. it will be observed from the above descriptioi'i of the firing gear that the rod (Z' positively holds the gear in the inperative position until. the collar '1) reaches its locking or retaining position. The stem 0 of the striker passes throu h a gland and stuiiing box in the body C or the firing gear at the base of the flotation chamher. In order to prevent sand or other f0)- eign matter from entering the firing gear tube (see Fig. 3) is provided inside the sleeve (2 and extends from the body C to the outer partof the bayonet joint connection or clutch. One end of the tube is secured to the body, the joint being made waterproof with red lead, or other suitable material; the other end of this tube is closed by the bayonet joint connection which is grooved and provided with suitable packing.

Referring to Fig. 4;, E is the plug of soluble salt and E is the casing therefor attached to the firing gear seating C The hole through which the soluble plug E is inserted into the casing is closed by a screw threaded plug 6 or otherwise in a watertight manner and another hole in the casing is closed by a cylindrical projection or other suitable member carried by a bracket 6 attached to the sleeve 0 in this manner the movement of the sleeve 0 to disengage its slot from the aforesaid stud, C will effect relative movement between the said casing and the projection e and result in the hole being uncovered so that the sea water then has free access to the soluble plug. The casing may have an air hole 6' of such dimensions that it will not permit water to pass through it to the interior of the casing. The safety device proper comprises a piston E whose outer surface lies in contact with the inner surface of the soluble plug E and whose rod has a chisel, beveled or otherwise suitably shaped end engaging ith a groove or slot c in the sleeve 0 so that when, after the soluble plug has been dissolved, a ship strikes the mine, relative angular movement between the sleeve 0 and the casing E will be permitted to take place. Between the inner surface of the piston E and the contiguous portion of the casing, a washer 62X of rubber or other suitable material may be placed. The aforesaid screw threaded plug 6 in addition to closing in a watertight manner the hole through which the soluble plug E is inserted into its casing E, also serves to press this soluble plug firmly against the outer surface of the piston, thus compressing the washer 6 and the waterproof joint between the piston E and the casing E. This screw-threaded plug 6 may carry a rubber washer e which may conveniently be attached to the screw threaded plug by a thin plate e and a screw or bolt 6 passing through the plate and the said plug, the washer and plug thus constituting a single unit.

in Fig. 5, 0*, C are the aforesaid transverse pins connecting the striker head C to its stem 0, and 0* is the circumferential groove in the stem with which pointed or rounded inner ends of these pins engage. C is the guide tube in which the striker head slides, and 0 c are the recesses in this tube for permitting the pins to move out ward as aforesaid when .the striker head is sufficiently retracted, thereby liberating the striker head from its stem and permitting the striker spring to impel the head against th detonator to fire the-explosive charge'iu the mine; it will be seen that after the striker-head has become liberated from its stem and commences its movement under the action of the spring, the recesses c, 0 cause the pins to move inward so that they offer no impediment to the firing movement of the striker head.

F is the aforesaid fixed drum on which the anchor cable B is wound F is the screw threaded shaft mounted in the drum and F is the arm connected to or forming part of the said shaft. F is the nut or collar normally locked to the shaft F and serving to limit the paying out of the cable B. The nut is capable of adjustment along the shaft so that the extent to which the cable is permitted to unwind can be varied as desired. For this purpose the nut carries a spring controlled pawl or catch 7' which normally engages with one or the other of two keyways f, j" in the shaft and which is disengaged from this keyway by the movement of a box spanner or other instrument when placed into engagement with one or more lugs F on the nut, the catch again engaging with the keyway f when the spanner is removed after the desired adjustment has been effected. The pawl or catch f is disengaged from the keyway f" by the engagement of the spanner with the underside of a tail-piece f on the pawl when the span ner is being placed in position. The shank 7 of the spanner (see Fig. 2) is preferably graduated along its length so that by observing these graduations against a fixed mark the adjustment of the nut is facilitated and the degree of adjustment that {has been given to the nut can be readily ascertained at any time by merely inserting the spanner andreading the graduations against the fixed mark. The graduations preferably correspond to fathoms and fractions of fathoms and are marked in accordance with the diameter of the drum F and thepitch of the screw threads on the shaft F.

(it is the aforesaid link or stirrup pivoted at g to the arm F and provided with a guide roller g for the anchor cable B. This stirrup normally lies transversely against the contiguous end of the drum F" and at its outer end engages with grooves 7", f; the stirrup is retained in this position by a breakable pin 9 or by a spring. When the mine is launched and the anchor becomes separated from the flotation chamber, the pull on the cable breaks the pin 9 holding the stirrup G in position against the drum and the stirrup is turned about its pivot into a position in. which the roller g is in line or approximately in line with the axis of the drum, this position being determined by toepieces or projections 9* on the stirrup coming against parts 7 of the arm F The cable is thus effectively guided during its paying out operation. The cable drum is arranged with its axis coincident with that of the sinker or anchor and an annular space is left between the drum and the casing of the sinker or anchor for the accommodation of the aforesaid outer portion D of the firing arm and a spring gear G (Fig.

2) carried by the portion of the cable situ-v ated between the aforesaid roller 9 and a shackle C by which the rope is connected to the member C The cable drum is hollow and the base of the sinker or anchor is formed with an aperture through which the aforesaid spanner can be inserted for adjusting the nut F The flotation chamber A and the anchor B may be provided with lateral fins for engaging in the guides or keyways usually provided in the torpedo tube. Of these fins those on the anchor are indicated at 13*, 13*, those on the flotation chamber being carried by a portion that is not shown in Fig. 1.

' These fins may however be dispensed with and replaced by rings fitted near the ends of both the flotation chamber and the anchor. These rings form bearings for the mine when in the torpedo tube or other launching device.

lVhat I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is 1. In a submarine mine, the combination with the anchor and the flotation chamber, of a firing arm made in two parts the outer part being normally situated within the anchor, and means whereby when the flotation chamber and the anchor become separated the said outer part of the firingarm will assume and be held in its extended or lateral position.

2. In a submarine mine, the combination with the anchor and the flotation chamber, of a firing arm made in two parts the outer part being normally situated within the anchor, and a spring controlled collar for moving said outer part into alinement with the inner part of the firing arm and for locking these parts together when the flotation chamber and the anchor becomes sepa rated.

3. In a submarine mine, the combination with the anchor and the flotation chamber, of a firing arm made in two parts the outer part being normally situated within the anchor, a spring controlled collar for moving said outer part into alinement with the innor. part of the firing arm and for locking these parts together when the flotation chamber and the anchor become separated, and means whereby the locking movement of said sleeve unlocks the firing mechanism of the mine.

4;. In a submarine mine, the combination with the anchor, the flotation chamber and the firing mechanism, of a safety device comprising a plug of soluble substance contained in a casing and means connected to the anchor cable whereby, until the flotation chamber has been submerged by its anchor, sea-water will be prevented from gaining access to the soluble plug, and means whereby the pull on the anchor cable will open said casing to the sea water.

5. In a submarine mine, the combination with the anchor, the flotation chamber and the firing mechanism, of a safety device comprising a plug of soluble substance contained in a water-tight casing having a hole, a member normally closing said hole, and means whereby the pull on the anchor cable will effect relative movement between the said casing and the member and result in the hole being uncovered so that the sea water then has free access to the soluble plug. 7

G. In a submarine mine, the combination with the striker head, its rod or stem, and a spring bearing at one end against said head and at its other end against a fixed part, of a member which is carried by said head and connects the latter to the rod and means whereby when the striker head has been retracted to,a predetermined extent against the resistance of its spring, the member will be moved by the pressure of the said spring into the disengaged position to liberate the striker head from its rod.

7. In a submarine mine, the combination with the striker head, its rod or stem, and a spring hearing at one end against said head and at its other end against a fixed part, of transverse pins connecting said head to the rod, the inner ends of these pins being more or less pointed to engage with a groove formed in the rod, a guide tube for normally retaining said pins in their engaged position said tube being formed with a recess so that when the striker is being retracted by the upward lift or buoyancy of the flotation chamber after a ship has struck the mine, the outer ends of the pins will come opposite the said recess whereupon the pins will be disengaged from the striker rod and the head will then be. impelled by its spring against the detonator to fire the mine.

8. In a submarine mine, the combination with the anchor cable, of a fixed drumvfor said cable and a device displaced by said cable during its paying out from the drum for stopping the paying out movement when a predetermined amount of cable has been paid out.

9. In a submarine mine, the combination with the anchor and its cable, of a fixed drum for the cable, an arm with which said cable cooperates, a screw threaded shaft mounted in the drum and connected to said arm, a nut mounted on said shaft, and means for normally locking said nut to the shaft.

10. In a submarine mine, the combination with the anchor and its cable, of a fixed anchor-cable drum, a screw threaded shaft engaging with said drum and rotated by the paying out of the anchor cable, a nut mounted on said shaft, and a pawl or catch carried by said nut and normally engaging with a longitudinal groove or keyway in the shaft, said pawl being so constructed that the placing of a spanner or other actuating instrument into engagement with the nut will disengage the pawl.

11. In a submarine mine, the combination with the anchor and its cable, of a fixed anchor-cable drum, a screw threaded shaft engaging with said drum and connected to an arm which carries a pivoted member through which the cable passes, the said drum.

12. In a submarine mine, the combination with the anchor and its cable, of a fixed anchor-cable drum, a screw threaded shaft engaging with said drum and connected to an arm which carries a pivoted member through which the cable passes, this member normally lying against the adjacent end of the drum and being temporarily retained in this position.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

THOMAS KEPPEL NORTH. 

